Portable heat sink

ABSTRACT

A heat sink comprises a food-safe structure having an inner surface and an outer surface defining a cavity in which there is a material with a high enthalpy of fusion. A cap sanitarily encloses the material within the cavity.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/955,201, filed Mar. 18, 2014, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed are embodiments of the invention which relate to, among otherthings, devices which deliver heat out of their surroundings into whichthey are placed.

BACKGROUND

In the course of preparing objects for handling, either in chemicalprocessing, cooking, or manufacturing, it is known to use warm, hot, orextremely hot media into which the object or objects are placed. Duringsuch preparations, such object(s) may require rapid cooling whilelimiting the amount of disturbance to the object.

It has been the method of the prior art to remove objects from warm,hot, or extremely hot media in order to limit the heat about the object,which results in disturbances to the object, the environment, andexpenditure of additional effort.

In the context of food preparation, inefficient or slow cooling of thesurrounding media can lead to risks of foodborne illnesses.

Prior art devices that have been used for cooling surrounding media havebeen made from materials that are fragile, poor heat conductors, or canbe harmful to the contents of the warm media into which they are placed.In one particular example, a plastic container filled with ice placedinto hot water holding food is susceptible to rapid expansion of thecool water, and could have its plastic exterior melt or disassociateinto the surroundings near the food. Under this particular example, useof such a device can be a safety concern.

The prior art devices also suffer from stability issues when placed intocertain media. For example, such prior art devices must be propped up ontheir own by leaning them against other surfaces holding the hightemperature media, limiting the placement of the prior art devices tothe locus of heat to cool the medium. Additionally, the lack ofself-stability can result in the device falling while in use or instorage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A heat sink device comprises a structure having an inner surface and anouter surface, each with at least two differently shaped cross-sectionsand the inner surface defining a cavity in which there is a materialwith a high enthalpy of fusion.

A heat sink device includes a cap enclosing cooling material within acavity formed in the device, wherein the center of mass of thecombination of the device, the material, and the cap is most proximal tothe lowest-most surface of the device. The heat sink device and/or itscavity may be any form of polyhedron.

A heat sink device may contain cooling material at a much lowertemperature than a medium in which it may be placed, whereby placementof the heat sink device in the medium reduces the temperature of themedium at a faster rate than if the medium were allowed to reach thattemperature under steady-state operation.

In one aspect, a stainless steel conical, pyramidal, frusto-pyramidal,or adequately shaped device may be designed to cool liquid foods in theshortest period of time while being self-supporting in high temperaturemedia. It may be placed within the media to best effect heat reductionfrom the surroundings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-B illustrate an outer and inner view of one exemplaryembodiment of a heat sink device.

FIGS. 1C-G illustrate an isometric, top, bottom, and cross-sectionalview of another exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device.

FIGS. 2A-B illustrate an outer and inner view of a second exemplaryembodiment of a heat sink device.

FIGS. 3A-B illustrate an outer and inner view of a third exemplaryembodiment of a heat sink device.

FIG. 4A illustrates an outer view of another exemplary embodiment of aheat sink device.

FIG. 4B illustrates an outer view of yet another exemplary embodiment ofa heat sink device.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate additional exemplary embodiments of a reconfiguredheat sink device.

FIGS. 6A-B illustrate cross-sectional views of other exemplaryembodiments of a heat sink device.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary operation of use of an exemplary heatsink device.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingand/or interchangeable parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1G, a heat sinkdevice 100 may be conically or rectilinearly shaped and possess an outersurface 5 which surrounds a cavity 25. Heat sink device 100 may beclosed at its apex by cap 15, which may be received either throughfriction-type coupling, or mated by screw, magnet, or other mechanicalmeans at reception point 16, or any other means known to those skilledin the art for effectively sealing the contents of a container withinthe container. In a preferred embodiment, heat sink device 100 may beabout 8 inches to about 24 inches in total height, including cap 15. Ina preferred embodiment, heat sink device 100 may be about 2 to about 6inches in diameter at its base and about 1 to about 2 inches in diameterat its apex. In another preferred embodiment, cap 15 may form asubstantially air-tight seal within heat sink device 100. In yet anotherpreferred embodiment, cap 15 may permit for pressure release of thematerials contained within heat sink device 100, e.g., check valve-typearrangement, to avoid boiling of the contained materials and increasedheat absorption capabilities. In still another preferred embodiment, asdisclosed elsewhere, the reception point 16 creates a sanitaryenvironment between the outside and inside surfaces of the container toavoid spillage of the contents from inside the container to outside thecontainer.

An exemplary heat sink device 100 may be made of any thermallyconductive material known to those skilled in the art, for example,aluminum, steel, stainless steel, or like alloys. Preferably, heat sinkdevice 100 may be made of stainless steel to avoid oxidation in hightemperature mediums. In another preferred embodiment, heat sink device100 may be made of a food-rated stainless steel or food grade aluminum.Those skilled in the art will recognize the benefits of using materialsthat do not result in surface reactions that can be harmful to thesurrounding contents of the medium into which a heat sink device 100made of such material is placed, such as, for example, materials thatwill not adversely affect food products in the medium or will not reactwith chemicals in the medium. Cap 15 may be made of the same or similarmaterials to heat sink device 100. Alternatively, cap 15 may comprise amaterial similar to that used for heat sink device 100 and othermaterial, such as, for example, elastomer, vulcanized rubber, ceramic,or other structures that are resistant to high temperature mediums.

Extending distally from surface 5 of heat sink device 100 may be one ormore fins 10. In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B, anexemplary fin 10 may be disposed in a spiral formation about thecircumference of heat sink device 100 at a pitch 12 and up to a height14. Alternatively, as in the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2A and 2B,an exemplary fin 10 may be disposed about a single circumference of heatsink device 100. As may be observed from the illustrative embodiments ofFIGS. 2A and 2B, a series of uni-circumferential fins 10 may be spacedapart by a distance 13 up to a height 14. An exemplary fin 10 may haveany number of cross sections and shapes and may be continuous ordiscontinuous about the surface of an exemplary heat sink 100, as may beillustrated by rounded cross-sectional spiral fin 11 and discontinuous,rounded cross-sectional spiral fins 13 in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Those skilledin the art would recognize that by increasing the number and surfacearea of a fin 10 would increase the heat transfer capabilities of heatsink 100.

In an exemplary embodiment, fin 10 may comprise a continuous spiralarrangement about the surface 5 of heat sink device 100. According tothis exemplary embodiment, fin 10 may begin at about the lowest portionof surface 5 and terminate at about the upper-most portion of surface 5of heat sink device 100. Alternatively, a continuous spiral fin 10 maybegin and/or terminate at other distances on surface 5. In a preferredembodiment, continuous spiral fin 10 may have a pitch between about 1.0inch and about 3.5 inches over a surface height of approximately 10inches.

With reference to FIG. 1B, the internal surface 20 of heat sink device100 may be substantially smooth or contoured, depending on particularneeds. Increasing con_(t)ours on surface 20 may increase potential forheat transfer between the outside and inside of heat sink device 100.According to the exemplary illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1B, insidesurface 20 may envelop a conical volume having a trapezoidal-likecross-section. In other embodiments, inside surface 20 may bedimensioned in any manner to fit within heat sink device 100 and permitintroduction of materials to assist in cooling of surrounding media.

Exemplary cooling materials that may be found within an exemplary heatsink device 100 may be liquids or mixtures with high enthalpies offusion, such as, for example, water, water-alcohol mixtures, water-gelmixtures, refrigerants, and ethylene glycols. Adding materials to aliquid with a high enthalpy of fusion may be utilized to increase thecapability of the material to absorb and contain heat from thesurroundings, e.g., water with hydroxyethyl cellulose, water andvinyl-coated silica gels, water and aluminum particles, andwater-salts/calcium combinations. For industrial applications, heat sinkdevice 100 may contain refrigerants or anti-freeze materials.

In a preferred embodiment, the material in heat sink device 100 may bepre-prepared at temperatures less than 0 degrees Celsius. In yet anotherpreferred embodiment, a water-filled heat sink device 100 may be placedin a freezer before use. In yet another preferred embodiment, thecontents of heat sink device 100 may be frozen before being placedin_(t)o the warm, hot, or extremely hot media.

With reference to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 2A and 2B, a heatsink device 100 may comprise a series of discrete fins 10, each having aunique circumference about heat sink device 100 outer surface 5.According to a preferred embodiment, fin 10 may be of roundedcross-section and about 0.25 inches to about 0.75 inches in thickness.

With reference to the illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 3A and 3B, aheat sink device 200 may comprise a spherical shaped outer surface 5and/or a spherically shaped inner surface 20 containing a volume 25. Astem 17 may extend away from spherical surface 20 to create a flask-likeshaped heat sink device 200. According to such an embodiment, a heatsink device 200 may not be perfectly spherical, and may be formed intoany number of rounded shapes.

The illustrative heat sink device 200 of FIGS. 3A and 3B, has at theterminus 16 of stem 17, a cap 15, which may be received therein to closethe inside of heat sink device 200 according to one or more of the sameor similar closing mechanisms described previously with respect to cap15 of heat sink device 100. According to the illustrative embodiment ofheat sink device 200 in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a spiral fin 10 extendingdistally form outer surface 5 of the device begins about the lowestportion of the device up to a distance 14, e.g., about the beginningportion of stem 17, at a pitch 12. According to the illustrativeembodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B, spiral fin 10 of a spherical heat sinkdevice 200 may have multiple pitches 12 to accommodate the sphericalsurface contours of the device.

Like fin 10 of the embodiments related to heat sink device 100, fin 10may be of any cross section. While not shown, an exemplary fin or seriesof fins 10 may be disposed about the surface of heat sink device 200 inany manner previously described with respect to fins 10 of heat sinkdevice 100. Those skilled in the art may also recognize that such fins10 may also extend about stem 17 of heat sink devices 200 configuredwith spherical bases.

As previously discussed, an illustrative heat sink device 100, asillustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B may have an assortment of configurationof fins 10 about surface 5 of the heat sink device 100. As shown in FIG.4B, a series of fins 10 may be disposed in a spiral arrangement aboutthe outer surface 5 of heat sink device 100. As illustrated, multiplefins 10 provide additional surface area by which heat from surroundingmedia may transfer from surface 5 of heat sink 100 to surface 20 of heatsink 100.

According to the illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 5A and 5B, exemplaryheat sink devices 125 and 225 may be configured to lean at a certainangle from the vertical. According to FIG. 5A, a heat sink device 125may comprise an outer surface 6, with or without fins 10, and a foot 8at its base. Foot 8 may be a substantially flat surface formed out ofthe conical cross-section of heat sink device 125. Foot 8 may permitheat sink device 125 to lean to its side without having to tilt it onthe substantially round edges of its conical base. According to FIG. 5B,heat sink device 225 may comprise an outer surface 6, with or withoutfins 10 or a stem 17, and a foot 8 at its base. Like an exemplary heatsink device 125 of FIG. 5A, an exemplary heat sink device 225 of FIG. 5Bmay have a foot 8 that may be substantially flat and formed out of thespherical cross-section of heat sink device 125. While foot 8 may beused to allow heat sink device 225 to lean to one side at an angle fromthe vertical, depending on the contour of inner surface(s) 20 and volume25 of heat sink device 225, heat sink device 225 may be capable ofleaning with substantial stability without resort to use of a foot 8. Anexemplary foot 8 may be formed by machining or extrusion techniques. Ina preferred embodiment, an exemplary foot 8 for either of an exemplaryheat sink device 125 or 225 may be laser cut from a finished heat sinkdevice 125 or 225,

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, an exemplary heat sink device 150 may have asubstantially ovular outside surface 5 and substantially ovular insidesurface 20 to hold cooling material 30 within volume space 25. Accordingto the illustrative embodiment, the spacing of volume 25 within heatsink device 150 may be such to allow a majority of weight of the deviceto be located at weight focus region 18. Thus, heat sink device 150 mayhave a substantially non-flat base, but maintain erect positioning in amedia due to distribution of its center of mass. In other words, heatsink device 150 may be configured to reduce rotation, e.g., stand, aboutany angle from the vertical just by shifting the weight focus region 18from the center of the device to peripheral portions of the heat sinkdevice 150. In this way, an exemplary heat sink device 150 may be ableto lower its center of mass closer to or in overlapping relationshipwith weight focus region 18.

Alternatively, heat sink device 150 may be configured to shift the focusof its weight to the location in volume 25 where cooling material 30 maybe located, as shown in FIG. 6B. In another alternative embodiment, thetilting of heat sink device 150 may be due to weight distribution of cap15, e.g., cap 15 may be positioned such that when placed on heat sinkdevice 150, heat sink device 150 may lean at a particular angle to thevertical or that a certain number of revolutions of cap 15 may result indifferent positions of heat sink device 150. Those skilled in the artmay understand that heat sink device 150 may be configured in othermanners to achieve standing stability, such as, for example, byincluding heavier materials between outer surface 5 and inner surface 20about the device. Thus, an exemplary heat sink device 150 may beconfigured to lower its center of mass when filled with cooling materialand closed with cap 15 such that the center of mass is closest to thebase of heat sink device 150. This optimization of location of center ofmass may be applicable to any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

According to the illustrative embodiment of heat sink device 225 in FIG.6B, volume 25 may be configured within heat sink device 225 such that acontent focused region 19 may be formed between outer surface 5 andinner surface 20. According to this exemplary embodiment, volume 25 maybe configured such that cooling material 30 may be focused at region 19to allow heat sink device 225 to tilt at a certain angle from thevertical. As previously described, those skilled in the art mayrecognize other possible methods of achieving positioning of heat sinkdevice in a medium by virtue of weight location between inner surface 20and outer surface 5, cap 15 configuration and location, and/orcombinations of the two, The positions of the cooling material and capin an exemplary heat sink device 225 may be such to achieve a loweredcenter of mass of the heat sink device 225 towards the surface of thedevice in closest contact with the surface or surfaces on which it isplaced. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, content focused region 19 may alsodouble as a heightened heat transfer area, whereby less material betweencooling material and the surrounding media permits greater transferenceof heat from the media to the cooling material, thereby cooling thesurrounding media.

It may be understood that content focused regions 19 may be used in anyof the other embodiments of FIGS. 1A-G, 2A-B, 3A-B, 4A-B, and 5A-B toachieve additional heat transfer benefits. For example, rather than besolid in cross section, fins 10 of any of the aforementioned figures andassociated disclosures may be hollow and fillable with cooling material30. According to such embodiments, heat transfer from surrounding mediathrough hollow fins 10 to cooling media 30 may be increased by makingthe fins 10 a content focused region 19 and thereby utilize the highsurface area of fins 10 and minimal heat impedance between outer surface5 and inner surface 20.

While several embodiments have referred to conical, spherical, or ovularheat sink devices, those skilled in the art may recognize that anexemplary heat sink device may be a polyhedron or prism with angularfaces, e.g., bases without rounding such as in a conical or sphericalobject. For example, an exemplary heat sink device may be a dodecahedronto allow it to be tilted in a number of manners to achieve adequatepositioning in a desired media. Accordingly, a heat sink device may notrequire a foot 8 or weight focused region 18 or content focused regions19 to achieve ideal positioning.

With reference to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 7, an exemplaryuse of an exemplary heat sink device 300 may be shown diagrammatically.While heat sink device 300 may be illustrated as conical in shape, itshould be understood that heat sink device 300 may not only be conical,but spherical, trapezoidal, rectilinear, prismatic, and other suchpolyhedral shapes with both round and rectilinear cross-sections. Theheat sink device 300 may have a cap 15 enclosing a volume 25 in which acooling material 30 is located. Heat sink device 300 may be placed inholding unit 85, which may be a basin, pot, or drum, in the same locusas object 50 in a media 75.

According to the exemplary diagrammatical representation of heat sinkdevice 300 operation shown in FIG. 7, the temperature of media 75 may besuch that the temperature of cooling media 30 is substantially lower. Toachieve equilibrium, media 75 may transfer heat (32) through outersurface 5 to inner surface 20 of heat sink device 300 to coolingmaterial 30. According to this exemplary embodiment, heat sink device300 may serve to cool media 75. In conjunction with any of theaforementioned heat transfer efficiencies from use of fins, contentfocusing regions, and positioning, heat sink device 300 may further coolmedia 75 at a faster rate. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the exemplary heatsink device 300 is tilted at an angle against holding unit 85 to allowits raised end of the base to act as a fin for additional heat transferfrom its outer surface 5 to inner surface 20.

In another exemplary embodiment illustrated by FIG. 7, an object 50heated by media 75 may also be cooled by use of heat sink device 300.While heat sink device 300 extracts heat from media 75, as previouslydiscussed, heat sink device 300 may also cause the heat of object 50 tobe extracted by cooling media 75. Thus, by heat sink device 300 actingas a heat sink for media 75, media 75's reduced temperature may serve tomake media 75 a heat sink for the heat of object 50. In this way, heatsink device 300 may indirectly cool object 50 without having to contactobject 50.

In one preferred embodiment, an exemplary heat sink device 300 may be ahollow conical structure having a series of non-spiral,uni-circumferential fins about its outer surface 5 with a ceramic cap 15and a rubber coating for handling. In another preferred embodiment, heatsink device 300 may be placed in boiling water containing an edibleproduct, such as a fruit, vegetable, or animal product. As is known tothose skilled in the art, edible products which are present in mediahaving temperatures of between about 140° F. to about 40° F. for aboutmore than four hours may be susceptible to bacteria growth or chemicalchanges that could adversely affect their edibility. According to thispreferred embodiment, an exemplary heat sink device may be inserted intothe media so that any edible product which is also present in the mediaspends as little time in a range of temperatures that may affect itsedibility. In one alternative, the exemplary heat sink device may beplaced in the media while the media continues to receive heat in orderto hold the temperature at relatively lower value. In anotheralternative, a media that is no longer heated may receive an exemplaryheat sink device to expedite the cooling of the media thereafter. In apreferred aspect of either alternative, the exemplary heat sink devicemay be placed in the media when the media is at a temperature of about140° F. Accordingly, the heat sink device may rapidly relieve heat fromthe media so that the temperature of the media transitions from about140° F. to a minimum achievable temperature, for example, between about100° F. to about 80° F. In another preferred aspect of eitheralternative, the same or additional heat sink device may be placed inthe media when the media is at a temperature between about 100° F. toabout 80° F., to thereafter reduce the temperature in the media to belowabout 80° F.

Those skilled in the art may appreciate that one or more exemplary heatsink devices described herein may be used with any of the illustrativeembodiments and their alternatives and equivalents. Numerous heat sinkdevices may be employed to reduce heat at a given time interval or acascade of heat sink devices may be applied to a medium over a period oftime in order that in combination, the heat sink devices may increasethe rate of heat withdrawal from the medium.

The above examples should be considered to be exemplary embodiments, andare in no way limiting of the present invention. Thus, while thedescription above refers to particular embodiments, all of which areinterrelated, it will be understood that many modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:
 1. A heat sink device, comprising: a food-safe structure havingan inner surface and an outer surface defining a cavity in which thereis a material with a high enthalpy of fusion; and a cap sanitarilyenclosing the material within the cavity.
 2. The heat sink of claim 1,where in the structure comprises a conical shape.
 3. The heat sink ofclaim 1, where in the structure comprises a ovular shape.
 4. The heatsink of claim 1, where in the structure comprises a spherical shape. 5.The heat sink of claim 1, further comprising at least one fin about theouter surface.
 6. The heat sink of claim 5, wherein the at least one fingoes about the circumference of the outer surface of the structure. 7.The heat sink of claim 6, wherein the at least one fin spirals about theouter surface of the structure.
 8. The heat sink of claim 5, comprisingone fin about the outer surface.
 9. The heat sink of claim 1, whereinthe structure is made from stainless steel.
 10. The heat sink of claim1, wherein the material comprises water.